Thursday, November 19, 2015

Ooh You're A Holiday

Celebrate an American holiday weekend with a quintessential English band.

Thanksgiving is one week from today, which means there will be four nights to explore Chicago's vibrant club scene without having to get up early for work or classes the next morning. Here are few options.EXPO '76 is throwing a Thanksgiving Eve Party next Wednesday night at FitzGerald's in Berwyn. The cover band is comprised of four musicians with vast experience in other groups, like The Slugs, Poi
Dog Pondering, The Service, etc.They're often joined on their eclectic selection of cover tunes by the Total Pro Horns. EXPO '76 has also been booked to welcome in the new year at FitzGerald's.

Also on Thanksgiving Eve, there will be a four-band showcase at Live Wire on Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago featuring The Safes, The Differents, The Red Plastic Buddha, and The Regals. I haven't had a chance to hear The Safes' latest effort , but their 2014 effort Record Heatserved up an impressive collection of punk/garage rock songs with an occasional hint of power pop and country. The Red Plastic Buddha's third and most adventurous album Songs For Mara had a number of psychedelic classics, such as "Stuck On Zero" and "Cosmonaut." The Differents play easy-going and catchy pop tunes, while The Regals pursue a more hard-edged punk sound.The day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday Record Store Day. Even those of us who have never risen before the crack of dawn to stand outside a Target or Sears, will brave the elements in order to snag some of the one-day only vinyl treasures on this holiday edition of Record Store Day. Some of the more notable offerings next Friday will come from The B-52's; Beck; Big Star; David Bowie; Garbage; Houndmouth; The Kinks; The Sonics; Spoon; Lush; and The Zombies. See the RSD website for the full list.

Squeeze will be at Park West in Chicago November 27 and 28 for acoustic performances featuring founding members Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford. The songs on Cradle To The Grave, the band's first full album of new material in 17 years, showcase the witty lyrics, catchy melodies, and harmony vocals fans have come to expect. This is a rare opportunity to see Squeeze in an intimate setting, and the shows are part of WXRT's Holiday Concert For The Kids series. If you plan on going, be sure to bring a new or like new book or toy that can be passed along to a child in Chicago area hospitals during the holiday season.Singer-songwriter (and author-model car maker) Dean Milano will be performing on November 27 at the Port Edward seafood restaurant in Algonquin. Milano has a classic folk vocal style, and he frequently adds a satiric edge to his original material.

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About This Blog

Broken Hearted Toy is an eclectic celebration of creativity, with over 2,000 posts since 2009.

It's based in Chicago but covers power pop, garage, cutting-edge, and 1960s rock from around the globe; along with occasional bits on art; literature; and theatre.

Top of the hill is a nice place to be at. - - - "Elevated Observations" by The Hollies.

Check out some of my previoius creative endeavors.

Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff was a weekly Internet show created by and starring Jeff Kelley. It mostly consisted of comedy bits and obscure 1960s garage rock set to vintage TV and film clips but also spotlighted entertainment events around Illinois.

My wife Pam and I created a handful of series (each episode was about two minutes long) that were shown on Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff. They included Manchester Gallery (see description below); Old Days, which I hosted in the persona of a cranky old man named Fritz Willoughby; Roving Reporter, where I played the clueless title character; What's With Terry?, a performance arts program; and Hanging With The Hollies, a takeoff on Breakfast With The Beatles.

I've also worked with Kelley and Willy Deal on comedy clips, and with Kelley and David Metzger on films for the annual Nightmare on Chicago Street Halloween festival in Elgin.

I'm particularly proud of this 21-episode comedy series Pam and I created for Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff. Each installment was a few minutes long, and featured me portraying Terrence, the curator of a pop culture museum.

I was a staff writer for this Chicago-based magazine from 1987 to 2015. The Illinois Entertainer has been covering rock music for over 40 years, and can be found in stores and entertainment venues, as well as in an online edition.

Chicago Art Machine was a web-based publishing company run by Editor-in-Chief, Kathryn Born, and Managing Editor, Robin Dluzen, that included Chicago Art Magazine, Chicago DIY Film,Chicago Performance And Trailers, and TINC. Most of my submissions appeared in Chicago DIY Film and Chicago Performance And Trailers, although I contributed to all the online Chicago Art Machine publications.

I was a writer and performer with this local comedy group from 1989 to 2009. Famous In The Future continues to perform in the Chicago area, and appeared at every one of the Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sinstheatre festivals that were held at the Mary-Arrchie Theatre. Since the closing of the Mary-Arrchie Theatre a few years ago, Famous In The Future has carried on the tradition by presenting Yippie Fest each year in August.

I'm an active member of SCBWI, (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) and have written two Middle Grade fantasy novels. I've just finished a YA/paranormal novel, and also wrote a suspense/satiric novel that takes place amidst Chicago's alternative music scene in the mid-1980s.

Broken Hearted Toy

The blog title comes from the line, "I'm the brokenhearted toy you play with" in the song "I Can't Let Go" by The Hollies. One of the great original British Invasion bands, The Hollies continue to have an immense influence on power pop bands to this day, and have finally been inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Here is a video of "I Can't Let Go" being performed in 1966.